#I’m 21 I cannot already be having technology struggles that’s just not happening

[nowshesdoingitallthetime]

Why is tiktok genuinely the hardest app to use on earth? like im fucking STRUGGLING whenever I open the app😭

[littlemsstark3000]

Common

Pairing: Tony Stark x Natasha Romanoff

Summary: Natasha went on a 21-day mission in Turkey one year after she got married to Tony, leaving him and Peter behind.

*****

Peter was lying on his bed for more than two hours but he still could not sleep. He was done watching his mom and dad's favorite series on his own Stark pad before jumping to bed and even shut his eyes for an hour, but he was barely sleepy.

He decided to get up and walk to the elevator that could bring him to the rooftop. It has been a while since the last time he went up there. Before - those days when he was still adjusting to his new life in the tower as SHIELD consultant-slash-Stark Industries owner's adopted son - he used to go up there to think, as he watched the busy New York City.

But after Tony Stark married Natasha Romanoff, the very own Black Widow of SHIELD, the two treated him very much as their own child. There was never a day that the couple left him out. They showered him with so much love and devoted their time to attend to his every need, that he did not have a moment to be lonely anymore.

Until this night.

Before he reached the lobby of the elevator though, Peter passed by the tower's bar and caught Tony sitting there alone, head down. In his hand was a glass, and he noticed, despite the dimly lit spot of his father, the bottle of vodka which was almost halfway finished already.

Tony looked up almost the same time that he called his attention.

"Dad?"

The genius billionaire put down the shot glass and wiped his face with bare hands. "Hey son. Why are you still up?"

Peter stepped closer to the counter.

"Why are you still up and here, too?" he asked as reply.

"Uh, nah," Tony shrugged and glanced at the vodka. "Just getting a fill."

"Can't sleep?" He opted to ask even if it was too obvious.

His dad shook his head.

"You miss Mom." It was more of a statement than a question.

He received a nod.

"I miss her, too."

Yeah, Peter admitted to himself, it was why their huge house felt empty to him and why he wanted to go up the rooftop instead of staying in his room. Natasha was not around to check up on him in his room at 9:00 pm like what she always did, and she wouldn't be there to wake him up the next day, too.

Tony sighed and took one more shot from his glass before his expression turned from sad to grim.

"She won't be home until after 21 more days."

It was a giveaway for Peter. And he had to speak out what has been bugging him for days.

"I know that you and Mom weren't talking before she left..."

He caught him freeze for microseconds before responding.

"We did, over our last dinner together. About your graduation right?"

"You were just trying to because I was there. I'm not a kid anymore..." Peter pushed further. "What's happening?"

Avoiding his eyes, Tony stood from the bar stool and approached him. "Everything's going to be fine, Pete. It's... just a phase," he answered vaguely then tapped his shoulder instead of explaining.

"You will fix it once she's back, right?"

"Of course. Don't think too much about it." His dad kissed his hair from the side. "Go to bed. Good night, son."

Peter just nodded and turned to watch a-little-drunk Tony walked back to the hallway that led to the bedrooms.

"Good night, Dad."

*****

"Hello?"

Natasha sensed anticipation from Peter's voice when he spoke from the other line after the ringing stopped. It seemed like he had been waiting for her call, so the moment that his mobile line rang, he picked it up immediately.

"Hey sweetheart," she replied briefly, knowing that he would recognize her despite the unknown number.

"Mom! I knew it, you'd call! How are you? Is everything okay?"

Peter was a combination of excitement and worry. Her eyes automatically watered.

Natasha never thought that she would reach a point like this... Working at SHIELD had been her life for more than a decade and she believed that she could die a SHIELD agent. Being abroad for missions was a norm for her. Going on dangerous assignments was never an issue. Every time she went away to take down bases with her team, the thought that she would not be able to go back alive to her home - if she could call the SHIELD helicarrier as such - was welcome.

But not this time around.

Three days into this 21-day assignment in Turkey, her first long and out-of-the-country task after she got married to Tony a year ago, she already felt that things weren't the same anymore. She still is the Black Widow, her skills for her job and the want to do good for people always in her. The thing is... she’s also Natasha Romanoff-Stark now. Wife and mother. Tony and Peter are her home now and she is deeply, passionately invested in her small family. She never imagined that the love she has for them is humanly possible.

Her chest tightened at the thought of his son and husband being so far away. Though, she needed to be strong for them and for her duty at hand.

"I'm fine. How's everything there? Your dad?"

"We're okay mom, I just miss you so much. Dad misses you, too... I caught him at the bar late last night."

Anxiety clouded her head. Tony has not been drinking for the past months. But what Peter just said...

"I miss him too, baby. Both of you. I miss you everyday," she kept her voice from breaking.

"Will you call him, too?"

In an instant, her husband filled her mind. How he did not stop her from taking this mission, though she felt that he was not happy about it. How he was zoning out during the last few days before she left the tower. He never suggested about re-considering this assignment nor did he request to cut it short. She probably would not have yielded anyway; she wanted to do the mission. But being in this situation now, she could only hope that she listened to what her husband had to say.

"I might -"

"Nat, let's go."

Before Natasha could finish what she was about to say, she was cut by Clint who stood a few steps away from her but has been monitoring her call. She could not make a call as often and as long as she wanted for security purposes, so she has to limit it and remain untraceable.

Peter heard him from the other line.

"Mom..."

Her heart broke once again. Unlike the previous night when she was able to keep herself from crying so Clint would not be alarmed of her internal struggle, the following nights might be less bearable. Although, she knew her best friend understood. It was actually him who arranged this call to Peter even without her asking.

"I gotta go, Pete. I'll call you again when I can, okay? Please look after your Dad for me," her lips trembled and she had to bite it.

"Yes, Mom. You take care. I love you."

"I will, sweetheart. Love you two so much. I'm going home soon."

As soon as she ended the call, her tears fell. She wiped them as she crushed the phone to the ground then walked past Clint, saying her thanks discreetly.

The Black Widow mask was back on.

*****

Tony has stopped working but he hasn't realized it yet. He was just looking at various holograms which he opened to, supposedly, study. But his mind just wandered off to Natasha, like how it had been for the past 20 days.

A month ago, Nick Fury asked him to look into the case of possible new HYDRA base in Turkey and he did. He provided all the information he gathered and proposed on how they could go about it.

The base would need a closer surveillance for a few days to see the routine around the area, ins and outs, as well as to check on the technology that they can use to infiltrate their systems - basically, things SHIELD cannot perform from afar due to restrictions.

To his great dismay, their best option was to send Natasha and Clint to do the job. Both were very well-versed in what to do, strategies and technical skills combined. They were highly reliable even if they worked remotely; they problem solve on their own, no need for supervision.

And when Fury asked if Natasha could take the mission, Tony was not surprised that she did almost immediately. Almost, because she looked at him while they were inside the director's office as if asking for permission... But how could he say no?

One: Having seen the available details about this base himself, he knew how delicate the job would be. They could not send just anyone who could afford to go. It required specially skillful, experienced agents... Unfortunately for him, his wife is on top of that list.

Two: When he married Natasha, he accepted the fact that she would not stop doing what she had been doing for more than half of her life. She rested, yes, but would never stop. Being a SHIELD agent was her good cause. She did what she does best here. She found her purpose here. More than anyone else, he as her former teammate and co-Avenger should understand that.

Three: If she declined this mission, it should be her decision because she has always been more than capable of thinking and deciding on her own. It would not be him dictating stuff to her or directing her actions. She is his wife, his better half. He swore to himself that he would respect her and value her more than his ego, which he has taken care of for a good portion of his childhood to adulthood.

And so he... did not affirm but did not disagree either.

Natasha took the job. He was left behind to wait. As a SHIELD consultant, he could not meddle with operations. While he can give and get information, he could not get in the front line. He stayed out, as he always has in other missions which did not involve his wife.

Fury was kind enough to let him know from time to time that Natasha and Clint were still in their radar, but they still cannot reach the two anytime they want for their security.

Tony's thoughts were interrupted when FRIDAY spoke.

"Boss, Natasha is in the vicinity. She is taking the private elevator from the helipad to the 90th floor."

He immediately stood up from his swivel chair and headed out of the workshop which was five floors below their three-floor penthouse, where Natasha was going.

"Where is Peter?"

"He just arrived from the University and is at the 90th floor too, boss."

In a few seconds, he was already on the same floor. He heard Natasha's and Peter's voices from where he stopped and stood out of the lift, and he gave them a little time alone.

"Mom!"

"Hi, baby."

"What happened? What's this?"

"Don't worry, it's nothing serious. Just bruise and scratches," his wife chuckled.

She's hurt, his jaw automatically clenched.

"FRIDAY, can you please tell Dad that Mom is back?"

"I already have, Peter."

"Are you sure you're okay?" worry was still evident in Peter's tone, and Tony was feeling the same.

"Nothing that I cannot handle. And you're gonna take care of me, yeah?"

"Of course, yeah... I missed you so much."

"Missed you too, sweetie."

He stepped out of his hiding and saw Peter hugging his mom tightly as they sat on the couch.

Natasha's left arm was in arm sling. There was a patch on one side of her forehead.

She saw him approaching first, and the young man must have felt it then turned his head.

"Dad," he voiced.

Tony smiled a little and nodded.

"Pete, can you get your mom water and make her a sandwich, please? She's probably tired and starving."

"I am," his wife confirmed.

"Alright."

Natasha kissed their son’s hair before he headed to the kitchen.

Tony fell on one knee in front of her and rested his hands on both her sides as she still sat on the couch.

"Hi."

"How was it?" He asked about the mission.

"Done."

He nodded. "Good."

"Is this time for small talk?"

"Guess we have to reserve the longer discussion until tonight. Peter will be back with your sandwich in a bit."

"How much time do we have?" she ran her free hand from his messy hair to face, touching his cheek with her thumb repeatedly.

"One minute tops."

"Can I kiss you for one minute then?"

"You can, but just to set your expectations, that's never gonna be enough after 21 days of absence," he teased.

Natasha raised an eyebrow as if asking what else?

"That's another thing we'll reserve for tonight."

Natasha broke into her familiar laughter, but her eyes suddenly were filled with tears.

And Tony's were, too.

His wife is definitely home.

*****

"I wanna feel your love

Just give me all your trust

Common ain't us

Cause common ain't enough..."

- Common, Zayn Malik

[artemisegeria]

Endgame Predictions/Wishlist Round-Up (Spoilers)

I made a number of posts discussing what I thought might happen, what I wanted to happen, and what I didn’t want to happen. Here’s how all my speculation and hoping stacked up against the real movie. Massive spoilers below the cut.

In summary, I was really wrong about a lot of stuff. The whole movie was very different from what I expected.

 Predictions

Speculative Timeline (as of April 2, 2019)

- We open on the remaining Avengers either in Wakanda or already back at the compound. It is only days or weeks after the Snap. They are struggling to pick up the pieces. They track the missing population and try to figure out what happened to all their allies that we didn’t see at the end of Infinity War.  Eh, not really. It was kind of like that, but they didn’t really focus on it.

- They find Nick’s pager and begin messing around with it to continue sending the signal. Captain Marvel arrives. Straight up was not in the movie.

- They cut to some of the other people who will play a role. Probably Tony. Maybe the dusted people. Or Scott Lang in the Quantum Realm. Eh, kind of. They did cut to Tony early on.

- We return to the Avengers. They decide to go fight Thanos. A while ago, I saw a synopsis from footage that was shown to some Disney investors. It said that the Avengers track the energy signature of the space stone, so maybe Captain Marvel’s arrival helps with that, since that is the stone her powers come from. This is still very soon after the Snap as shown by Nat’s hair in the new special look footage. This was a trick again. I think this happened after the time jump.

- They get soundly defeated. But they either manage to escape or Thanos shows “mercy” and decides to send them back to Earth or something. Wrong. They actually defeat him, which I liked. It really made me wonder what would happen next.

- Maybe some time passes of them still struggling to get through the wreckage of their world. Some other remaining allies, like Pepper, coalesce around them. Kind of. There was the scene with the hologram chat.

- Tony arrives with Nebula. Reunions and tough conversations. This pretty much happened, but it was more shouting than an actual conversation.

- Big time jump (like 3-5 years). I know I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but for some reason, the more I re-watch the trailers, the more I think that sometime during this period, if it really falls out this way, they will be able to restore Vision.  First part was right. Sadly, very wrong about the second part.

- We open on Nat in Japan. She talks to Clint and tries to get him to come back to New York with her. He refuses; he says he’s not done avenging his family. Wrong about the second part and it happens early in the movie.

- Cut to Tony, Steve, et al. working together on new weapons, getting SHIELD back together, trying to make the best of the situation. So wrong.

- Scott Lang arrives from a Time Vortex in the Quantum Realm. He finds the Avengers. He has new information that unlocks a solution that they haven’t tried yet. Everyone starts to work on that. Kind of, but happened much earlier than I expected.

- Clint comes back, hence Nat’s smile in the new footage.

- Maybe they cut again to the dusted people working on their own solution. And/or Thanos.

- We see the Avengers working more/testing whatever time travel/quantum technology they’re developing. There are some emotional beats between different characters. They didn’t really pause long enough to have emotional beats in my opinion.

- They’re finally ready to use it. I still don’t have a clear idea on what could happen during this part of the plot. But they use their new allies and new technology to get what ever they need to face Thanos again. Yes, the infinity stones, but I didn’t really predict anything specific here.

- The final showdown. Everyone fights together, last chance, throw every power at the wall and see what sticks. They’re on the brink of defeat. Thanos is still too powerful. When things look very bleak for our heroes, all the dusted people come back. They rally and defeat Thanos. The rest of universe’s population that was dusted comes back. Mostly this is what happened, definitely the best part of the movie.

- Celebration, mourning, weddings, funerals, a taste of what the characters will be doing going forward. Kind of yes, kind of no.

- End Credits Scene(s)

- Cue black screen with white text, saying something to the effect of: The Avengers have done their jobs. Or the new Avengers will return.

General Predictions (as of March 25, 2019)

1.      There is no time travel, aside from maybe whatever Scott does to get out of the quantum realm. The early leaked set photos that looked like they were from the Battle of New York were all BARF technology, dream sequences, illusions, alternate universes, etc.

2.      They do explore multiple realities/universes.

3.      The dusted people are not in the Soul Stone. I think I got this one right. I’m still a little unclear on what happened.

4.      Tony survives and gets to marry Pepper and have a kid and a farm.

5.      Steve survives, too. With everyone debating whether Steve or Tony or both will die, I think they might go for a surprise and kill off neither of them, making the death(s) someone(s) more unexpected. I guess he’s technically still alive at the end, but close to dying of natural causes.

6.      I think at least one major or semi-major character will die and stay dead. At this point, I have no idea who.  Yes, so far.

7.      The MCU going forward is in a totally new universe/continuity. The more I think about the possibility of the multiverse, the more I think they might pull a Star Trek (2009) and have the fix involve creating a new timeline, therefore making permanent changes and definitively forging a fresh trail.

8.      I hate to say it, but I think we will get some variation of White Vision. Prove me wrong, Marvel. I do not want to be right about this, but I just have a feeling. This would not be the absolute worst outcome because it could still be fixed, but I really, really hope I am wrong. I’m not sure, but I think I might have preferred White Vision to the complete nothing that we got.

9.      They will fight Thanos more than once. Yes.

10.  Shuri is fine. The picture of her on the missing people board in the first trailer was either a misleading shot or at that point in the movie, the Avengers genuinely thought she was dusted. She will help them defeat Thanos.

11.  There will be a time jump. Despite the admission that misleading footage was used in the trailers, I think certain appearance changes in the characters point in only one direction. Individual shots may be misleading, but I think the general sense that a lot of time passes at one point will remain.

12.  The Snap will still be reversed, but the fix will not involve undoing it entirely. Instead, people will be brought back to after the time jump has occurred. I just cannot fathom Marvel not bringing back half the universe’s population. But if the time jump remains intact, that will provide some permanent changes and losses.

 Wishlist Items (as of December 11, 2018)

1.      Vision comes back with his emotions/memories fully or mostly intact

2.      Wanda et al. come back

3.      Everybody lives

4.      Alternatively, if anyone dies, have it be very important to the final victory and a grand send-off

5.      Have all the Avengers be integral to winning, not simply rely on the awesome powers of a few of them

6.      If time travel is involved, still have everyone remember the events of Infinity War

7.      Emotional reunion between Vision and Wanda

8.      Have Tony and Steve reconcile I don’t know, kind of, but not really.

9.      Emotional reunions for everyone Most people got them.

10.  A Pepper/Tony wedding at the end/show everyone celebrating

11.  Showing the aftermath of IW for the general population Kind of, the bare minimum of showing that.

12.  Full-on Return of the King style ending with 10 scenes showing little vignettes between various characters where everyone is happy or on their way to being happy Also kind of, a little bit

13.  Happy or reflective post-credit scenes (no indication of a new threat on the horizon; let there be a moment of peace) No post credits scene?

14.  At least 20 minutes-half an hour of wrap-up/celebration and/or mourning/preparation for moving forward after the final battle. Hell, I’d probably even take an hour. They have 10 years of movies to wrap up. I think it was more like 5 or 10 minutes.

15.  Thanos gets the justice that is coming to him

16.  Have Nebula kill Thanos (if that’s the resolution, which makes the most sense to me), and not Tony or Carol or someone else

17.  Have Thanos be the main villain (I keep hearing rumors that this is not the case, but I think that it would be a bad idea)

18.  A final battle scene that Sebastian Stan (I think) mentioned filming with every Marvel character making a grand last stand Almost everyone, except Vision. I’m still mad about that.

19.  A (final?) pre-battle pep talk from Steve

20.  Everyone meeting Carol kind of, also bare minimum

21.  “Avengers, assemble!”

22.  Ideally, I’d like Vision to come back as early in the movie as possible, but the more I think about it, the more that seems kind of unlikely. But if it doesn’t happen until the end, I’d love Tony to have a line something like, “I need to have all my sons at my wedding.”

23.  Shuri and Peter Parker to interact

24.  Thor (and Loki?) and Doctor Strange to meet again and have a callback to Ragnarok

25.  Wanda and Doctor Strange to interact Not really, I think they were sort of next to each other at one point.

26.  Wanda and Carol to interact same as above

27.  Vision and Groot to interact

28.  An explanation of Doctor Strange’s plan didn’t really get one

29.  People interacting in the Soul World

 Things I Didn’t Want to See (as of March 14, 2019)

1. White Vision

2. Wanda to somehow be pregnant/have the twins by the end of the movie. It seems probable that some variation of that is the eventual plan, which is fine, but I’d prefer them to wait a while to implement that. Let Wanda be happy and let her and Vision just be a happy/recovering couple for a while, let them more fully explore themselves and their powers first.

3. Redemption for Thanos. I know there is some precedent for him working with the Avengers in the comics, but it would make me angry if they just worked together in the face of a bigger threat despite everything that happened.

4. Captain Marvel or anyone else to save the day (almost) single-handedly. Most of the talk from the filmmakers and the marketing indicates that they are focusing on everyone being a team and working together, but I would be tremendously disappointed if that turns out not to be the case. It’s only proper that, as the apparent swan song for many of the original six, that much of the focus should be on them and the whole ensemble of all the Marvel heroes. I want everyone to be integral to the victory.

5. Lack of closure in general. I don’t want Thanos or any of the Infinity Stones hanging around. I guess the Infinity Stones are still around.

6. No Vision

7. No happy reunion for Wanda and Vision. There are definitely ways they could both come back, but still not get a happy reunion, which is why this is a separate item.

8. Anyone dying. Probably the most unrealistic, but I will hold on to hope until proven wrong.

9. More trauma for Wanda and Vision. What with the show still apparently happening, I have fewer and fewer doubts about the fact that both Wanda and Vision will come back (pretty much at 100% certainty for Wanda and maybe like 70-80% for Vision), but I am far less certain about what the movies/show will do to them once they come back.

10. Vision to be wiped out from ever having existed. I don’t think this one is too likely, but I do see some room for it to happen.

  Things I Liked That I Didn’t Expect or Ask For

-          America’s ass

-          Wanda’s badass one-on-one confrontation against Thanos

-          All the MCU women teaming up

Things I Didn’t Like That I Didn’t Expect or Ask For

-          Virtually zero mention of Vision. Not even saying his name once. Honestly, the writers always seemed to like him. Did they suddenly get mind controlled by a Vision or Scarlet Vision anti?

-          Fat jokes about Thor

-          A cameo by one of the Russos (I always get them mixed up)—it was very stupid and self-indulgent, considering what they left out

[such-a-common-girl]

Professor Winchester (Dean Winchester x Reader AU) Chap. 3

Professor Winchester Masterlist

Word Count: 2,659

Professor!Dean Winchester x Reader AU

Summary: Your first day on the job as a Dean’s assistant isn’t as easy as you thought it would- but it’s not the work that’s making it difficult.

Warnings: Language, mentions of sex, sexual tension

*gif not mine*

“You what?” Nina’s hand freezes as she goes to lift the fork up into her mouth, her jaw dropping in shock.

“I accepted the job.” You shrug, taking a bite out of your apple. “I need the experience and the letter of recommendation. He needs help getting organized and caught up. It’s a win-win.”

You weren’t sure whether or not you wanted to tell Nina at first about your newfound job opportunity. You didn’t know how she’d react since she was there the night of the drunken incident. She didn’t know everything – certainly not about the kiss – but she knew enough, and you didn’t want her to think you were taking Dean’s offer just because of that. You didn’t want her to think that you were becoming one of those students.

But, the more you thought about it, you realized you had to tell her. If she didn’t find out from you, and mysteriously from some other source, it’d look way more suspicious than if you just told her the truth.

“You lucky bitch!” Nina beams, her eyes crinkling up at the corners as she slaps her thigh. “You totally have Professor Winchester wrapped around your little finger!”

“I do not have Dean wrapped around my finger.” You roll your eyes, and Nina’s lips form into a smirk upon hearing you call Professor Winchester by his first name. “We both had a mature, adult talk about things and have agreed to put the events of last Sunday behind us.”

“Yeah yeah, whatever you say.” Nina shakes her head, finally taking a bite of her pasta. “What kind of work are you doing for him, anyways?”

“I’m not really sure,” You say. “Typical assistant stuff, I don’t know.”

“This is like the beginning to every porn video I’ve ever seen.” Nina laughs, making you spit out your apple.

“Nina!” You scold, but you can’t help but let a laugh escape. “It’s not like that.”

“Whatever you say.” She walks away from the kitchen table, putting her plate in the sink. “You start tomorrow? Are you nervous?

“Yes, I start tomorrow, right after my computational calculus class. And to answer your other question, yes I’m nervous. Beyond nervous. This internship, or job, or whatever the hell you want to call it is basically going to determine my future. I mean, Dean is a good guy and I think even if I colossally fuck up and he ‘fires’ me, he’ll still write me a good letter of recommendation, but… I’m still anxious.” You admit, setting your half-eaten apple on the table and beginning to fiddle with your fingernails – a bad habit you only do when you’re nervous.

“Stop stop stop,” Nina rushes over to you, taking your hands in hers and giving you a concerned look. “You’re my best friend and because of that, I’m required to stop you from falling back into old habits. Stop with the fingernails. Are you really that nervous?”

“I wasn’t lying when I said beyond.” You bite your lip. “I just feel like I’m bound to screw this up. What if something happens, Nina? Forget all the excuses I told you earlier. You know what happened on Sunday. Dean and I agreed to put that behind us and move on, pretend like it didn’t happen, but it’s going to be really fucking hard when I have to spend most of my time around him now. You know how attracted I am to the guy, and he’s made it pretty clear that the feeling is mutual, despite our agreement. I’m just afraid something is going to happen and screw up my future.”

“You’ve got to relax a little, Y/N.” Nina sighs. “As much as I want to tell you to just fuck him already, I understand what you’re saying. But think about it this way- the job is only for the rest of the semester, and then it’s done. You’ll never have to be around him again, not unless you want to be. So if you can keep your lust under control until then, which I know you can, you’ll be fine.”

“Jesus, Nina, I’m turning into one of those people we always make fun of. Throwing themselves at Professor Winchester. I can’t believe myself. One, small drunken kiss and I’m suddenly-“

“What?!” Nina screeches. “You didn’t tell me that you guys kissed!”

“Oh.” Your cheeks go red, realizing that you accidentally let it slip. “You absolutely cannot tell anyone, you understand?”

“Oh, I understand,” Nina says smugly. “My best friend’s kissing her teacher. The teacher, the one everyone is head over heels for. I’m sorry, this is not what you want to hear right now, but I’m so fucking proud of you.”

“Ugh.” You groan. “I’m trying to forget about it.”

“Alright, alright. I won’t bring it up again unless you do.” She smiles at you. “But, if it makes you feel any better, you’re nothing like those other students. Not even close.”

“How?” You laugh sarcastically.

“Because you’re technically not even pursuing him, and you’re still getting more out of it than they do.”

-

You take a deep breath as you stand in front of Dean’s office, your hand formed into a fist as you hold up your arm to knock on the door. You’ve never been to his office before, not his actual office, only his classroom.

After yesterday’s somewhat uplifting talk with Nina, you’re feeling much better about working as Dean’s assistant. The nerves are still there, naturally, but way less so than before. You feel confident that you can make it through the job without any complications of any kind.

You knock lightly on the door, not even able to knock a third time before the door is opened abruptly. Dean stands there, his eyes glanced down at you since you’re quite a bit shorter than him. He’s wearing normal clothes – a flannel and jeans, something completely different than the suits or sweaters that he typically wears for his lectures. A small smile appears on his face as he sees you standing there, but it’s obvious that he’s stressed.

“You alright, Dean?” You frown.

“Yeah yeah, just got a shit ton of papers to grade still. Come on in, you’ll be a huge friggin’ help.” Dean opens the door wider, allowing you to walk inside. It’s a nice, medium sized office. Not quite as large as you imagine the dean of KU has, but roomy enough to fit a couch, a few bookshelves, and a desk.

“What exactly do you need me to do? I haven’t exactly ever done this before.” You set down your purse on the couch, looking around awkwardly.

“Here’s your list for today- it’s easy as hell, don’t worry. Just takes up a lot of time that I don’t have since I need these essays graded by this weekend. You can use my extra laptop to do some of them.” Dean explains. He hands you a handwritten list of your tasks.

To Do List – FOR Y/N

-send an email to Dr. Garth asking about the results of his experiment and asking permission to speak about it in class. he’s going to say yes, and since I already know that, please ask him if I need to highlight any specific areas that he thinks are important. clarify that it’s you sending email or he’ll be suspicious since I don’t type very ‘professionally’ or whatever. It’s a problem of mine. I should probably work on that, being a college teacher and all.

-respond to student emails regarding questions you know the answer to/dates of assignments/their grades. Calendar and student grades are on my laptop with the dates. I trust you won’t snoop for personal reasons. I know you won’t but you know, just saying.

-organize my bookshelves. I don’t care the order. They’re just insanely unorganized and not even stacked correctly right now and it’s driving me insane. Thanks.

-bring the harry potter series to Castiel (Professor Novak). This one isn’t work related, but he’s never read the series and I’m forcing him to. It’s like the guy is stuck in ancient bible times, I swear. He struggles with technology and basically anything 21st century. Jesus, this to-do list is turning more into a conversation than anything. Sorry. His classroom is one floor down and room 34.

“That’s it?” You ask, looking up at Dean as you giggle slightly at the little notes he added on to the end of each task. “I was expecting a lot more.”

“Nah,” Dean dismisses. “Told you it's easy shit. Nothing too grueling. And I’ll be in here if you need any help, so feel free to ask me questions if you’re confused about anything. Make yourself comfortable. I’ll be at my desk so you can chill on the couch.”

Your mouth goes a little dry upon the realization that he’s going to be in the room with you the entire time. You know it shouldn’t affect you so much- he’s doing a nice thing, he’s a nice guy. He probably doesn’t even think about that night anymore, so why can’t you get it out of your head? Why can’t you stop thinking about him bending you over that desk and-

“Y/N?” Dean snaps you out of your thoughts. You blush like mad knowing what you were just thinking about. “Here’s my extra laptop. I’m already signed in on email.”

“Thanks.” You weakly smile at him, taking a seat on the leather couch while you grab the laptop from his hands.

You’re not sure if only you’re feeling it, but the tension in the room is overbearing. His hand lingers a little too long on yours while he passes you the laptop, his smile lasting a little too long to be friendly. Maybe it is just you, but the elephant in the room is prominent and seemingly not fading away.

You clear your throat as you tear your stare away from him, his actions mirroring yours. He walks over to his desk as if nothing just happened, immediately opening up his other laptop to begin to grade the number of essays he has.

Once you open up his email, your mind immediately goes into work mode. You’re able to send Dr. Garth and reply to all of the student emails within an hour, leaving you with only two tasks to finish.

“Where do you want your laptop at?” You ask, closing the top. “I finished.”

“Huh? Oh, just leave it on the couch.” Dean doesn’t even look up from his computer. You notice how concentrated he looks; his bright green eyes glued to the screen as he bites on the tip of his pencil, his lips pink and plump, essentially looking way more sexy than he should. It’s a sight you never knew you needed to see until now.

“Jesus…” You mumble under your breath. Dean looks up at you, catching you staring at him. His lips, only for a slight second, curl up into a smile. Only for a second, and if you hadn’t been already analyzing his face, you would’ve probably missed it.

“Something wrong, Y/N?”

“Nope.” You say all too quickly. “I’m just gonna go work on the bookshelves now.”

You don’t give him time to reply before you look away from him, setting the laptop down beside you and walking over to the bookshelves. Dean wasn’t lying when he said that they’re really unorganized- it’s a mess. Half of them are lying down, stack up upon each other, and the other half are just randomly thrown about.

“Aren’t professors supposed to be really organized?” You say, beginning to take all of the books off. You’re going to have to start fresh.

“I’m a bit of a rule breaker.” Dean laughs, and your heart flutters at the sound.

What the fuck is wrong with you? Getting all giddy from hearing his laugh? You feel like you’re in high school all over again, crushing on that one hot upperclassman who probably had only talked to you once.

“I can see that.” You tease.

“You want to take a break? Get some dinner or something? We could go get pizza, or even order some in if you want. I know you had classes before this, and we’ve already been here for a while. Don’t want to starve my assistant on the first day.” Dean says, taking you by surprise.

“Are you sure? I know you have a lot to grade, and I don’t want to be the reason you don’t get it done.” You shrug, trying to act nonchalant. Despite your ever growing attraction to the man, you do not want to get dinner with him. It’s bound to only skyrocket your feelings, which is something you absolutely don’t want to happen. Besides, isn’t getting dinner together a little too much for a professor and his student? Nevertheless, you can’t outright tell Dean no, that you don’t want to get dinner with him. It’d sound rude.

You’re over-thinking this way too much.

“Trust me, I could use the break too.” Dean pushes his chair away from his desk. “So what’s the plan? Order in? Go out?”

“I guess we could just order in.” You suggest. “I don’t want people getting the wrong idea…”

“I get it.” Dean nods, and you could swear you saw a look of hurt flash across his face. “No need to explain. What kind of pizza do you like? I’m ordering you your own. I eat an entire one myself.”

“Pepperoni is fine. Tell me how much I owe you after you order it.” You pull your phone out of your purse, checking the time. Almost six. By the time you finish eating, complete your tasks, and drive home it’ll probably be close to nine, and you still have a shit ton of homework to get done. Thank god you don’t have classes tomorrow, or you’d be exhausted.

“It’s on me.” Dean shakes his head. “You need help with homework or anything while we’re waiting for our pizza?”

“Unless you know anything about computational calc, nope.” You snort. “It sucks. The only reason I’m even taking that class is because of general education requirements. Same reason I’m taking yours. No offense. If it makes you feel better, though, I like Greek Mythology a whole lot more than calculus.”

“Yeah, there’s a reason I’m not a math professor.” He laughs, getting up and sitting next to you on the couch. “Math was never my strong sort. I barely passed algebra. Greek mythology, on the other hand, is the most interesting thing in the world to me. All the monsters, the gods, the truly terrifying shit from your nightmares… Maybe I’m just a nerd, I don’t know. Maybe in another life, I was a monster hunter or something.”

“Yeah, maybe.” You smile. “I think it’s pretty cool how passionate you are about it, though. It definitely shows whenever you teach.”

“You know, that means a lot. Thank you.” His hand goes to touch your thigh, gripping onto it lightly. He retracts his hand once he realizes what he’s done, clearing his throat. “So, pizza. I should probably order it.”

“Yeah, good idea.” You stutter out. He gets up off the couch swiftly, pulling his phone out to dial the number of whichever pizza place he’s ordering from.

You watch him as he paces around the room while talking on the phone, barely believing that that just happened. You’re absolutely certain now that he can feel the tension between the two of you as well- it’s not just you. And now, the tension has only grown higher.

What are you getting yourself into?

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[glenmenlow]

Will Voice Search Hurt Brands And Agencies?

As algorithms play a bigger and bigger part in how we make decisions, and how decisions are made for us, it’s interesting to ponder what the effects might be on brands and their agencies, particularly as we transit from a text-focused way of searching for answers to one that is more voice oriented.

Economists Ariel Ezrachi and Maurice Stucke have suggested that, as platforms take more of a gatekeeper role in our decision-making, that the choices we think we have, and the options we believe are real, are being increasingly distorted. Platforms, they say, can not only change pricing to reflect market conditions, they can also individualize offers based on data, and as they learn by doing, they will effectively come to set what shoppers each pay, without human intervention. Combine this with the shift to mega-scale in critical parts of the economy and you have what amounts to a significant shift in competitiveness.

So shoppers may feel they are making the best decisions based on the information presented to them, but in fact the information itself is much less objective than they might like to think. And as people become more time-poor and rushed, and our dependence on these decision shortcuts grows, the influence of platforms on so many aspects of our lives will only increase.

New forms of search are also changing how we query what we need to know. Mary Meeker’s most recent report on the state of the internet highlighted that as voice recognition accuracy improves, voice itself now constitutes 20% of mobile searches. We are shifting away from the written systems we have relied on in recent years to ways of finding what we want that are more mobile, and as we do so we are using new mechanisms like voice search across a broader expanse of our lives: as a personal assistant; to find fun and entertainment; to look for general information; and to search for local information.

At the same time, voice devices like Amazon Echo are gaining traction. There are now 11 million such devices installed in the United States. Even though that number is tiny compared to the total number of households at this point, Scott Galloway has put those three aspects together – algorithms, search and access to new devices – and focused on the effect that Amazon alone will have on our shopping decisions going forward.

With 52% of US households now having an Amazon Prime membership, the company has the means to powerfully disrupt the retail landscape, he says. As consumers shift to voice search and use devices like Amazon’s Echo system to connect with Amazon’s Alexa voice service, brands will find themselves at a considerable disadvantage. Effectively, Galloway believes that voice search will drive greater commoditization as consumers choose items rather than brands, and platforms deliver those products at prices that fit with consumers’ own buying habits. That will motivate more consumers to choose house brands over other brands that may fall outside of what is being suggested. “Brands are disadvantaged because there is no way for them to show the investments they’ve made [in the] online [world],” he says. In fact, “Brands will not matter at all because of voice [searches].”

There’s some evidence for his concerns. When research firm L2 used Amazon’s Echo to buy more than 450 products across a range of categories, they found that bigger brands fared better than lesser known brands but also that an overwhelming number of products that Alexa suggested were available to Amazon Prime members. “[P]roducts with Amazon Choice designation, which is given to the top brand in each product group, were far more likely to be recommended for first-time orders. The next most common category was Best Sellers, along with products with the top search rank on Amazon’s website.”

In many ways, that’s not at all not surprising. Amazon is simply closing the loop in its ecosystem by keeping as much as possible within its own domains. By vertically integrating search, sourcing, purchase and delivery, it has provided a shortcut that rewards those who stick with Amazon.

Other brands do the same. Apple wants us to stay with Apple; Facebook wants us to stick with Facebook. The power of being a global ecosystem lies in providing the customer with everything they are looking for from the one place. And the way brands like Amazon do that of course is to drive up the convenience factors. Other options are available, they just may not be quite as easy or as rewarding as making more of the decisions in one place based on information that feels right (because it has been personally tailored algorithmically for the shopper).

The Shift To Voice Search: Friend Or Foe?

The key concern for brands is what happens to their online presence and profile as ecosystems intensify and the nature of search changes. Will such a shift make branding redundant?

Before I answer that, let’s take a moment to consider why this shift to voice search should be welcomed. While it’s easy to position such technology as a threat to the way things have been done, that same concern is regularly leveled at innovations. Such assessments often turn out to be exaggerated because people don’t change what they do as radically nor as quickly as analysts would like to believe. Let’s not forget either that voice search delivers buyers greater power to search and therefore increased ease. It has the potential to usher in a new level of sophisticated purchasing that delivers new options and opens up whole new ways to buy, and that’s exciting and empowering for shoppers. But, in all likelihood, voice search will also continue to sit alongside technologies we already know, including current ways of searching, for some years to come.

I for one think it is too early and too tempting to write off the whole of the branded economy just yet. There is no doubt that voice search, and the other technology changes we can expect, will challenge how brands present themselves, and that those that fail to adapt will find themselves in trouble. But while voice search certainly represents a challenge, I am not rushing to judge that barrier as insurmountable. In fact, I’m not even convinced it is the true problem. Rather I think the rise of voice search is a symptom of a bigger struggle that more brands are confronting today: the ability to gain traction in markets where consumers are increasingly motivated by those convenience factors that technology companies are so adept at resolving.

The rise of voice search does reinforce some things. The battle for awareness and recall is only going to become more difficult because voice search will literally change what consumers ask for – meaning that, as we have already found with the evolution of text-based search, what consumers are shown or told all comes down to the query they make. The pace at which brands will evolve is only going to accelerate. Brands are going to need to find new ways to articulate value in the face of competitors who understand their consumers better than they do. But the real dilemma it seems to me is one of a lack of true simplicity. Too many brands still make it too hard to shop with and buy from them, compared to how easy and simple it feels to buy from the likes of Amazon.

The real issue here isn’t search, it’s delivery.

The way to address that is to recognize that the days of marketing working in silos are over. Brand cannot be separated from UI or from search, for example, because consumers make no such distinctions. The brands they rely on are those that provide them with what is needed with the least friction. In order to build powerful brands for tomorrow, marketers need to build brands that are more closely and creatively aligned with people’s lives.

What Could This mean For Agencies?

That quickly calls into question the whole role of communications agencies going forward. Because if communication is increasingly tied to access, as it is in the case of voice search, then the parameters within which communications agencies must fashion answers are going to get a lot broader. The interface, the sales funnel and the supply funnel need to be considered and fashioned together in the light of what a brand knows about the people who buy from it. Creativity will be less about what people notice and more about motivates and rewards them at every step of the purchase process.

In the next era of product marketing, communication agencies will need to articulate their value in a world where actions really will speak louder than the stories and images they have become so skilled at creating.

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